Friday, July 10, 2015

Blog Tour Review and Giveaway: Not Every Girl by Jane McGarry

She is going through with it anyway, of course. After all, it is the chance of
a lifetime. The unreasonable rules of others should not stand in her way.

In her small kingdom of Stewartsland, Olivia trains with the squires and
harbors a secret dream. She longs to become a knight under the command of the
Master-of–Arms, who just happens to be her father. He has indulged her passion
so far, but they both know a simple fact – girls may not attain knighthood.
Dismayed by the constant discouragement of her ambitions, she makes an
impetuous decision to disguise herself as a boy in order to sneak on a mission.
The consequences are not at all what she anticipated.

When her deception is revealed, she is sent home in disgrace; however, an
unexpected turn of events puts her at the center of a dangerous plot against
the King. The ensuing adventure finds her grappling with mercenaries and
outlaws, yet these pale in comparison to her newly awakened emotions. She finds
not only her life at risk, but also her heart, when the aloof Prince Liam
begins to affect her in ways she never thought possible. In the end, it is her
courage and unique spirit which must guide her through the challenges she
encounters both physical and emotional.

Not Every Girl was one of those books I know I would have absolutely adored if it was not for just one simple element; insta-love. As soon as that came into play, I had a hard time enjoying it as much as I know I could have.

The book follows a girl named Olivia, who wants to be a knight, but can't for the simple reason that she is a girl. I know that Olivia should have been a character I loved, definitely had potential to be at the beginning. She is headstrong, she hates the disadvantages she has just because of her gender, and she has a pretty good head on her shoulders. All things I tend to like in my protagonists. The one thing is...the insta-love. Olivia herself calls it love at first sight. As soon as this happened, it was harder for me to relate to her, because this just seemed a bit improbable to me.

Then there's Liam. He's at first glance a rude, brooding prince, but there's another side to him. I did like Liam; he was sweet and I was definitely a fan of the way he treated Olivia. The one complaint that I would have with him is that he went from having one personality to having another pretty quickly. Though there was an explanation for it, I still found it a bit strange.

Of course, I did not like the romance very much. The fun of reading romance is the people actually falling in love, realizing that they care about each other, discovering new things about each other that make them fall a little deeper. And I just didn't get that here. What happened was that Olivia hung out with Liam, found out she wasn't a jerk, and then decided that she loved him. I felt cheated.

The plot was fun; I really liked reading about Olivia's schemes, and about how they set out to rescue the King and her father. Athos reminded me a lot of Robin Hood, and I enjoyed the element that he added to the story.Seeing Olivia prove everyone wrong, that even though she was a girl she was still valuable as a squire, made me proud.

Not Every Girl was entertaining, but it would have been more so without the whirlwind romantic feelings. I would have liked more of a slow burn on the romance. Other than that, I don't have many qualms with this book.

About the Author

Reading was always a big part
of my life. Creating my own stories developed out of this love. Finally, I
decided to try my hand at writing a novel and that was when Not Every Girl was
conceived.

I live in New Jersey with my
husband, two sons and an extremely spoiled cat. When I am not running around
with my family or writing, I can be found curled up with a good book and said
cat. It is my belief that a good book, a loyal pet and anything made of
chocolate can brighten just about any day.